Stasimon 3
[Episode]
Tightly the pincers shall grip the neck
Chorus
of him who feasts upon his guest; for soon will he lose the light of his eye by fire; already the brand, a tree’s huge limb,
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lurks amid the embers charred.
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Oh! come ye then and work his doom, pluck out the maddened Cyclops’ eye, that he may rue his drinking.
And I too fain would leave the Cyclops’ lonely land and see king Bromius, ivy-crowned, the god I sorely miss. Ah! shall I ever come to that?
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Odysseus
(leaving the cave cautiously.) Silence, ye cattle! I adjure you;
close your lips; make not a sound! I’ll not let a man of you so much as breathe or wink or clear his throat, that yon pest awake not, until the sight in the Cyclops’ eye has passed through the fiery ordeal.
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Chorus
Silent we stand with ’bated breath.
Odysseus
In then, and mind your fingers grip the brand, for it is splendidly red-hot.
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Chorus
Thyself ordain who first must seize the blazing bar and burn the Cyclops’ eye out, that we may share alike whate’er betides.
First Half-Chorus
Standing where I am before the door, I am too far off to thrust the fire into his eye.
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Second Half-Chorus
I have just gone lame.
First Half-Chorus
Why, then, thou art in the same plight as I; for somehow or other I sprained my ankle, standing still.
Odysseus
Sprained thy ankle, standing still?
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Second Half-Chorus
Yes, and my eyes are full of dust or ashes from somewhere or other.
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Odysseus
These are sorry fellows, worthless as allies.
Chorus
Because I feel for my back and spine, and express no wish to have my teeth
knocked out, I am a coward, am I? Well, but I know a spell of Orpheus, a most excellent one, to make the brand enter his skull of its own accord, and set alight the one-eyed son of Earth.
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Odysseus
Long since I knew thou wert by nature such an one,
and now I know it better; I must employ my own friends; but, though thou bring no active aid, cheer us on at any rate, that I may find my friends emboldened by thy encouragement. [Exit Odysseus.
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